Flotation-machine.



C. E. RORK.

FLOTATION MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I0, 1914.

Patented 13411120, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

.lllll 2 s. an, or norretas, antenna.

FLOTA'IION-MACEINE.

maddest.

Specification of Letters Patent.

racemes Apr. senate.

Application filed September 10, 1914. Serial No. 861,061.

To all whom it may. concemr Be it known that l, CnARLEs E. Roan, citizenof the United States, residing at Douglas, in the county of Cochise andState of Arizona, have'invented certain new and useful Improvements inFlotation-Machines, of which the following is a specification;

My invention relates to new'and useful improvements in flotationseparators of the type employed for separating sulfid minerals from apulp of the gangue material of their ores, the primary object of myinvention being the provision, in connection with a single settlingtank, of a plurality of separate agitation chambers for the successivetreatment of the pulp, each agitation chamber having its own paddlewheel or agitator.

A further object of my invention is to provide a separator of the abovedescribed character in which all of the a 'tators are mounted upon asingle driven s aft and in which the pulp is automatically. fed from oneagitation chamber to the next, the feeding being accomplished partiallyby gravity and partially by the action of the paddles or agitators. 1

A further object of my invention is the construction of a separator inwhich the pulp passes from the settling tank into the agitation chambersat a level below its normal level in the settling tank and in which theaerated pulp is discharged from the, agitation chambers above the levelin the settling tank being however, forced to flow down beneath thelevel in such tank by suit-. ably arranged battles-which also serve toprevent the setting up of cross currents in the pulp'liquid contained inthe settling chamber.

A. still further object of thy invention consists in providing thesettling tank. at

either side, with overflow lips discharging into longitudinallyextending launders.

A still further objectof my invention is to provide a novel form ofregulating valve for controlling the discharge of pulp from theagitation chambers into the settling chamber. 7

With these and other objects in view, my invention will be more fullydescribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and then morespecifically pointed out in the" claims which are attached to and term apart of this application.

LInthe drawings: Figure 1 is a top plan v1ew of my 1Inproved flotationseparator, showing it with the top or cover portion of the agitationchambers removed; Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on theline 2--2 of Fig. l, with the top or cover in place; ,Fig. 3 is afragmentary perspective view of the agitation chambers, together withtheir top and, cover, the settling chamber structure being broken awayto show such parts. Corresponding and like parts-are referred to in thefollowing descriptionand indicated in all the views of the drawings bythe same reference characters.

My improved flotation separator includes a supporting base or bed 10 ofany suitable design and material carrying a settling chamber, indicatedas a whole by thenumeral 11. This settling chamber" includes verticallydisposed end walls 12 and 13, a horizontal bottom wall 14; and sidewalls 15 and 16, being substantially rectangular in shape, save for thefact that the side walls are inclined inwardly toward their lower ends,as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the draw- 'ings. Furthermore, the sidewalls terminate at a level below the upper edges of the end walls andare provided with outwardly and downwardly inclined flanges 17 formingoverflow lips. Launders 18 and 19, in the form of shallow open troughs,are disposed immediately below the free edges of the overflow lips 17,at either side of the settling chamber, being closed at one end andleading at their other end to hny suitable point of discharge, theselaunders, serving to convey away the separated mineral.

That end wall 13, adjacent the discharge ends of the launders, is alsoprovided with a discharge opening 20 through which the tailings maypass. Longitudinally extending false bottom members 21 and 22 hear attheir lower edges against the lower portions of the side walls 15 and16, respectively, and project upwardly and inwardly toward each other tosupport a plurality of alined, longltudinally extending agitationchambers, indicated as a whole by the numeral 23. These agitationchambers are preferably substantially octagonal in vertical crosssection, as shown in Fig. 2, although they may be circular in crosssection or formed with any number of polygonal side walls as deemedexpedient. In any event, each side of one is either formed integry withor constructed to form continuations of the corresponding sides of theothers, in effect .a single longitudinal chamber being formed which issubsequently divided into a plurality of chambers by transversepartition walls 24. Furthermore, this sectionalized agitation chamber isformed in a lower portion and upper portion 26 hingedly connected asshown at 27 in order that the upper or cover portion may be turned backto expose the paddles or agitators mounted in the chambers. Preferably,that end of the agitation chamber, adjacent the end wall 13 ot' thesettling chamber, is spaced somewhat from such wall to PI'OVldfi'fOI-tcommunication between opposite sides of the settling chamber, while theother end of the agita tion chamber either bears against the other endwall or the other end wall is utilized as an end wall for the agitationchamber, as shown in Fig. l.

The supporting base or, bed of the machine is provided at op osite endswith alined bearings 28 to receive a driven shaft 29 having a pulleywheel 30 about which is trained a drive ulley 31. This shaft ex tendscentrally o the agitation chamber, the partition walls of which arecut-away to receive it and carries in each'agitation chamber an agitator32, preferably in the form of a paddle wheel including a hub 33 havingradially extending blades 34. These blades, for thebetter agitation ofthe pulp, may-be perforated as shown at 35 in Figs. 1 and 2, or theirends may be notched, serrated or otherwise formed as shown at 36 in Fig.1 to provide teeth or fingers. The top or cover portion 26 of theagitation chamber is provided throughout its length, and in its upperface, with a longitudinal opening 37 through which the sulfid mineralsmay be discharged, this opening being closed by a cap 38 spacedvertically thercabove and supported by upwardly extending flanges 39 and40 at either side of the opening 37, these flanges being alternatelycut-away as shown at 41 to permit discharge of'the pulp from thecompartments of the agitation chamber. Each of the flanges, at eitherside of each of the cut-away portions 41, is provided with outwardly,dirccted'shoulders 42 which are continued downwardly over the sides ofthe upper member or cover 26, as clearly shown in Fig. 3 of thedrawings, to meet outwardly extending shoulders 43 formed upon theloweror body portion 25 of the agitation chamber and in verticalalinement with the shoulders 42, the shoulders 43 extending below theliquid level in the settling tank 11. The shoulders 43 are connected bya plate 44 to form in effect a spout and the shoulders 42, throughoutthe lower portion of their extent. are also connected by a plate 45forming an upper continuation of such spout.

. income The hinges 27 connecting the cover and body of the agitationchamber are attached to these plates. Each of the openings 41, whih ineffect merge with the discharge openings '37 of the agitation chamber,is provided with an adjustable closure 46 including a sliding plate 47mounted in guideways 48 formed in the cap 38 and provided with adownwardly directed valve gate 49 which, by reciprocation of the plate47, may be moved to either completely close the adjacent opening or toopen the same to any desired extent. The construction'ot these gatevalves will be readily understood by reference to Figs. 2 and 3 of thedrawings.

liongitudinally extending baflie members 50 and 51 project from theopposite sides of the lower or body portion of the. agitation chamber inparallel spaced relation to the false bottom members 21 and 22,respectively, in such a manner that pul discharged through the spoutstormed by the shoulders 42 and 43, together with their closure plates 44and 45, will be deflected outwardly toward the side walls of thesettling tank. Each compartment of the agitation chamber is providedbelow one or the other of these baflies with an inlet 0 ening 52, suchopening, in each instance, being formed in that side of the chamberopposite the discharge opening 37.

In operation, the pulp containing the ore to be treated, which has beenpreviously reduced to requisite fineness, with water in suitableproportions andwith some rea ent material, the whole forming-the freelyowing pulp, is fed into the agitation chamber or one of the compartmentsthereof, preferably the one at the end opposite the tailings outlet ofthe settling'tank. The pulp in the first compartment will be agitatedand thereby aerated and subsequently splashedv out by the paddle bladesthrough the discharge opening of such compartment ot the agitationchamber in the settling tank. its passage into the settling tank will,of course, be through the spout leading from the discharge openinthrough which it passes and the discharge pulp will be directed belowthe liquid level in the settling chamber. The particles of mineral, towhich air films are attached, will consequently rise to the surface andfloat oil over one or the other of the discharge lips into the adjacentlaunder. The pulp remaining in the settling chamber, after thisoperation, together with what mineral it may contain, which has not yetbeen separated, settles toward the bottom of the settling tank and flowsinto the next compartjnent of the agitation chamber by gravity. Theagitating and discharge of pul from this second chamber is identical witthat previously described, the pulp being again discharged into thesettling chamber and a portion of its mineral contents floated too lllllofl. This operation is repeated untilultimately the pulp is dischargedfrom the last chamber and such pulp, from which the mineral has now beenextracted, passes ed as tailings through the outlet port of the settlingchamber. 7

The agitation chamber as a whole may be formed in as many compartmentsor cham-' hers as desired, the number of such chambers depending uponthe type of pulp being treated and the percentage of its mineral whichmust be extracted. The length of time required for the passage of thepulp through the flotation separator may be va- 5. ried at will byproper adjustment of the gate valves and'this variation will, of course,aflect the amount of the contained mineral which will be separated.

that each section of the agitation chamber has a larger section of thetank to discharge into than would otherwise be possible-without undulyexpanding the sections of the agitation chamber or without spacing themfrom each other. This will be appreciated by reference to Fig. 1, inwhich an agitation chamber of six sections is shown, each sec tionhaving its own settling chamber section to'discharge into. As will beseen by referring to this figure, each of the sections of the settlingchamber is larger than would be possible if they were all on the sameside of. the agitation chamber as a whole. I

As previously stated, the upper edges ofthe partition walls53 are spacedbelow the overflow lips of the settling tank and, therefore, below theliquid level in the tank. Be-

cause of this arrangement of partition walls.

and also because 0 the tact that one end of the agitation chamber isspaced from one end of the settling tank, there is direct communicationfor the liquid through all parts of the settling tank, thisinsuring moreuniform' flotation of the separated mineral bearin material.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. X flotation se arator including a settling tank provide at its sideswith overflow lips, an agitation chamber spaced from the sides of thetank and partially im mersed in the tank and divided into a plurality ofcompartments, each compartment being provided near its lower end with aninlet opening and at its upper end with a discharge opening, the inletand discharge openin s ofeach compartment being opposltely isposed tothose of adjacentcompartments, and agitators mounted one in eachcompartment. I

2. A flotation separator including a settling tank provided at itssides' with overflow lips, an agitation chamber spaced from the sides ofthe tank and partially immersed in the tank and divided into a pluralityof compartments, each compartment being provided near its lower end withan inlet opening and at its upper end with a discharge opening above theliquid level, the inlet and discharge openings of each compartment beingoppositely disposed to those of adjacent compartments, agitators mountedone in each compartment, and valves controlling the size of thedischarge openings. 3. A flotation separator including a settling tankprovided at its sides with overflow lips, an agitation chamber spacedfrom the sides of the tank and partially immersed in the tank anddivided into a plurality of compartments, each compartment beingprovided near its lower end with an inlet opening and at its upper endwith a discharge opening above theliquid level, the inlet and dischargeopenings of each compartment being oppositely disposed to those ofadjacent compartments, agitators mounted one in each compartment, valvescontrolling the size of the. discharge openings, and spouts leading fromthe discharge openings to points below the liquid level in the settlingtank.

4. A flotation separator including a settling tank provided at its sideswith overflow lips, an agitation chamber spaced from the sides of thetank and artially immersed in the tank and divided into a plurality ofcompartments, each compartment being provided near its lower end with aninlet openposed to those of adjacent compartments,

agitators mounted one in each compartment, valves controlling the sizeof the discharge openings, spouts leading fromthe discharge openings topoints below the liquid level in the settling tank, and bailles spacedbelow the discharge ends of the spouts to deflect the discharged matteroutwardly toward the sides of the tank. v

5. A flotation separator including a set tling tank provided at itssides with overflow lips, an agitation chamber spaced from the sides ofthe tank and partially immersed in the tank and divided into a pluralityof compartments, each compartment being provided near its lower end withan inlet opening and at its upper end with a discharge opening, theinlet and discharge openings of each compartment being oppositelydisposed to those of adjacent compartments, agitators mounted one ineach compartment, valves controlling the size of the discharge openings,spouts leading from the discharge 0 )enings to points below the liquidlevel in the settling tank, and batiies disposed below the dischargeends of the spouts to deflect the discharged matter outwardly toward thesides of the tank, one end of the agitation chamber being spaced fromthe discharge end of the tank.

6. A flotation separator including a settling tank provided at its sidewith overflow lips, an agitation chamber spaced from the sides of thetank and partially immersed in the tank and divided-into a plurality ofcompartments, each compartment being provided near its lower end with aninlet opening and at its upper end with a discharge opening, the inletand discharge openings of each compartment being oppositely disposedtothose of adjacent compartments, agitators mounted one in eachcompartment, valves controlling the size of the discharge openings,spouts leading from the dischar e openings to points below the liquidlevel 1n the settling tank, baflies disposed below the discharge ends ofthe spouts to deflect the discharged matter outwardly toward the sidesof the tank, and a plurality of transverse walls forming divisions inthe settling tank, these .walls being arranged to cause the dischargepulp from one compartment to be drawn into the next compartment. 7

7. A flotation separator including a settling tank provided at its sideswith overflow lips, an agitation chamber extending longitudinally andcentrally of the tank being partially immersed thereinand divided into aplurality of transverse compartments, each compartment being provided atone side with an inlet opening near its bottom and at its other sidewith an outlet openin near its top, such openings being reverse yarranged in adjacent compartments, partitions in the settling tankforming chambers which communicate with one inlet and one outletopening, and an agitator mounted in each compartment of the agitationchamber.

8. A flotation separator including a settling tank provided at its sideswith overflow lips, an agitation chamber extending mamas longitudinallyand centrally of the tank being partially immersed therein and dividedinto a plurality of transverse compartments, each compartment beingprovided at one 'side with an inlet opening near its bottom and at itsother side with an outlet opening near its top, such openings beingreversely arranged in adjacent compartments, partitions in the settlingtank forming chambers which communicate with one inlet and one outletopening, a shaft extending longitudinally through the agitation chamber,and a pluralit of blades extending radially from the s iaft and arrangedin groups, one group in each compartment, the blades. lying in planesparallel to the axis of the shaft.

9. A flotation separator including a settling tank havin downwardlyconverging side walls provided at their upper edges with overflow lips,a false bottom in the tank includin members extending from the loweredges of the side walls upwardly and inwardly toward each other, anagitation chamber supported upon the false bottom and extendinglongitudinally of the settling tank, said agitation chamber beingdivided into a plurality of compartments, each compartment having, aninlet opening adjacent one of the false bottom members and an outletopening adjacent its top and above the liquid level in the settlingchamber, dis charge spouts leading from the outlet openings to a levelbelow the surface of the liquid in the settling chamber, and battlemembers disposed below the lower ends of the discharge spouts andextending in parallel spaced relation to the false bottom members.

10. A fiotationseparator including a settling tank, an agitation chamberpartially immersed in the tank, a rotary agitator mounted in the chamberwith its up i r ortion projecting above the liquid leve l of the tank,the chamber being provided with an inlet opening below the agitator andwith an out et openin above the agitator, and a discharge spout leadingfrom the outlet opening into the settling tank at a'point below theliquid level therein.

In testimony whereof I aflix'my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES E. Roux. 1.8.

'Witnesses I AUG. SANDBERG, a CHARLES F. NICHOLS.

